West Ham manager Sam Allardyce fears players involved in the Africa Cup of Nations are putting their lives at risk.

Hammers midfielder Mohamed Diame was caught up in the riot that forced last week's qualifier between his Senegal side and Ivory Coast to be abandoned.

His West Ham team-mate Guy Demel was at the game but did not play for Ivory Coast because of injury. Allardyce was relieved both returned to the club unharmed.

Danger: Riot police escort Ivory Coast players off the pitch

In 2010, Emmanuel Adebayor was part of the Togo squad whose coach was ambushed by gunmen in Angola. Three people were killed and seven wounded.

Allardyce said: 'The Africa Cup of Nations has always been a bigger concern than any other tournament because of the volatile nature of those nations. There's been times when it's been unsavoury - but it has been brushed under the carpet. I hope this one doesn't because what happened in Senegal is worse than what happened in Serbia.

'You wouldn't be shocked about any player retiring from international football because of that.'

Former Bolton and Newcastle boss Allardyce added: 'I had Lomana LuaLua come back from playing for Congo and said he feared for his life and El Hadji Diouf gave up playing for Senegal because of the trouble he went through.

'It's difficult for those players to be brave enough to do that because of the pressure they and their families might be put under.

'FIFA should sort it out. They have to put the sanctions up to fit the crime.'

Allardyce has questioned the sense of Winston Reid's call-up by New Zealand for their internationals with Tahiti over the past week.

Reid remains in doubt for West Ham's Barclays Premier League fixture with Southampton this weekend, much to Allardyce's frustration.

'I don't see any sense in calling them over and particularly that far, because they are injured. I don't see any sense it in at all,' he said.

'I also think there was an underlining factor that they didn't trust him or us that he was injured.

'There's another underlining factor that tells me that the players are brought there and then they're put under enormous pressure to play, because of the loyalties to the country by the coaches and certain political elements which they have to resist.

'On one hand I'm all for international football but it doesn't make any sense to take them because they can't play. I don't understand that at all,' he said.